1. Situation Assessment
The Situation Assessment is the most important of all the steps. First, it is the initial step in the process that gets the process started; and it’s a great way to engage your organization in the exciting process of new product development. Second, it lays the foundation for all else that follows. It sets the tone by uncovering key assets, liabilities, issues and opportunities within your category.
2. Idea Generation and Concept Development
From the insights gained from the situation assessment in step #1, begin generating product/service ideas and convert them into product concepts. Ideas from within the company can be used as stimuli for generating ideas with customers and end consumers. Involve a cross-functional team in the process to ensure that all aspects of the business are incorporated into the process.
3. Select High-Potential Concepts
Use market research to identify those concepts that represent the best business opportunities. At this point, quantitative research is most appropriate in order to gauge customers' purchase intent and to identify which specific aspects of the concepts were most appealing. With this information, fine tune the winning concept(s) and move on.
4. Build Business Case & Gain Buy-In
With the high-potential product/service ideas in hand from the previous step, build a business case to support your company's investment in the new products. This is a fully developed business case that shows revenue and profitability projects, alignment with corporate objectives and achievement of pre-determined corporate hurdles (such as NPV, IRR, ROIC, etc.).
5. Operational Readiness
After gaining buy-in from key stakeholders in the previous step, now it's time to begin getting your company ready for the new product(s) or service(s). It's critical that all parts of the organization be included in this process to ensure a success launch; develop a cross-functional team and have regular meetings to keep the project on course.
6. Test Market
Ideally, the new product or service will be test marketed in order to 1) further validate the opportunity, and; 2) fine tune the marketing and operational plan. This can be done through a real market test - such as introducing the new product or service into a limited geography or channel. This can also be done through simulated market launch models.
7. Launch!
Simply stated: launch the product or service, as per the operational plan previously developed.
8. Post Launch Assessment
This stage seeks to answer the questions: Were objectives achieved? How can the process be improved? How can we make the product perform even better in the marketplace?